Jonathan Toews
Jonathan Toews (born Jonathan Bryan Toews on April 29, 1988 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey center who plays for and is the captain of Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing Career Amateur Playing Career Jonathan was selected first overall in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft by the Tri-City Americans, but he chose instead to play midget AAA hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary's, a boarding school in Faribault, Minnesota during 2003–04 and 2004–05. The decision enabled him to retain his NCAA eligibility. Jonathan scored 110 points in 64 games in his second season with Shattuck-St. Mary's before moving on to play college hockey. He played for two seasons at The University of North Dakota, compiling 85 points (40 goals, 45 assists), a plus-38 rating and a 56.7% faceoff winning percentage in 76 games. He helped UND reach the NCAA Frozen Four in both 2006 and 2007, serving as an alternate captain in his sophomore season. Jonathan registered 39 points as a freshman and earned Rookie of the Week honors twice. He helped North Dakota capture the Broadmoor Cup as WCHA champions and also was named West Regional MVP after tallying five points. Going into the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Jonathan was ranked third among North American prospects by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and was chosen third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. NHL Playing Career In the 2007–2008 season, Jonathan opted out of his final two years of college hockey eligibility to debut with the Blackhawks after signing a three-year, entry level contract on May 16, 2007. On October 10, 2007, he scored his first NHL goal on his first shot in his first game against the San Jose Sharks. He then recorded the second-longest point-scoring streak to start an NHL career, registering a point in each of his first 10 games (5 goals, 5 assists). On January 1, 2008, Jonathan sprained his knee in a game against the Los Angeles Kings. Despite missing 16 games from the injury, he led all rookies in goal-scoring and finished third in points. He finished second in team scoring behind fellow rookie Patrick Kane; the two of them battled all season for the lead in team and rookie scoring before Jonathan went down due to injury. The two were both nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL rookie of the year along with Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Bäckström. Jonathan finished as a runner-up to Kane. Following his successful rookie campaign, Jonathan was named team captain of the Blackhawks on July 18, 2008. At the age of 20 years and 79 days, he became the third-youngest team captain in NHL history (behind Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning). Jonathan was previously been named an alternate captain in December of 2007 during the 2007–08 NHL season. In the subsequent season, he was voted as a starter, along with teammates Patrick Kane and Brian Campbell for the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal. On February 27, 2009, Jonathan netted his first career hat trick in the NHL in a 5–4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He finished the 2008–09 season with 69 points in 82 games, helping the Blackhawks to their first post-season appearance since 2002. He added 13 points in 17 playoff games as the Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference Finals where they were eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings in five games. Less than a month into the 2009–2010 season, Jonathan was sidelined with concussion-like symptoms after receiving an open-ice hit from defenceman Willie Mitchell in a 3–2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on October 21, 2009. He had his head down while receiving a pass in the neutral zone when Mitchell left the penalty box and checked him with his shoulder. Toews was sidelined for several games before returning to the lineup. In the final year of his contract, Jonathan (as well as teammates Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane) agreed to extensions in early December 2009. His deal was structured similarly to Kane's, worth about $6.5 million annually for five seasons. He finished the season with 68 points in 76 games. During the 2010 playoffs, Jonathan recorded his second career hat trick, along with two assists, leading the Blackhawks in a 7–4 playoff victory against the Vancouver Canucks on May 7, 2010. On June 9, 2010, he led Chicago to the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship since 1961, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth game of the Finals. Jonathan became the second-youngest captain in the history of the NHL to win the Cup, behind Sidney Crosby who led the Pittsburgh Penguins to the championship the previous season. He scored seven goals and 29 points in the playoffs and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. By winning the Stanley Cup, he also became the youngest player, at 22 years old, to become a member of the Triple Gold Club (Olympic gold, Stanley Cup, World Championship). In the off-season, Jonathan was selected to be the cover player for EA Sports' video game NHL 11 on June 21, 2010. It marked the first time in EA Sports history that two players of the same team were featured on a video game cover two years in a row, as Patrick Kane had been on the cover of NHL 10. During the 2010–11 season, Jonathan recorded a career-high 76 points in 80 games. Due to salary cap constraints, the Blackhawks were forced to trade away many of their players from the previous season's championship-winning team including Antti Niemi, Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd. As a result, the Blackhawks narrowly made the 2011 playoffs, ending the regular season eighth in the Western Conference. Down three-games-to-none in the opening round against the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks won three straight games to force a game seven. In the deciding contest, Jonathan scored a short-handed game-tying goal with 1:26 remaining in regulation. The Canucks went on to score five minutes into the ensuing overtime period to eliminate the Blackhawks. Toews had four points in the seven-game series. Jonathan was chosen to play in the 2012 All-Star Game, but an injury that sustained during a 5–2 loss to the Nashville Predators kept him from playing. He was replaced by Scott Hartnell. Jonathan finished the 2011-12 NHL season with 57 points in an injury-shortened year. Jonathan returned to play at the start of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where he scored the overtime winner in Game 5 to send the series back to Chicago for Game 6 where Phoenix won 4–0 to eliminate the Blackhawks from the playoffs. In the lockout shortened season of 2013, Jonathan returned to top form. He helped the Blackhawks win the President's Trophy as the team with the best regular season record. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he led the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup championship. He was awarded the Selke Trophy and named an All Star. On October 29, 2013, Jonathan scored the second natural hat-trick of his NHL against Craig Anderson of the Ottawa Senators. The 2013-14 season was another productive one for Jonathan. In 76 games, he scored 28 goals and 40 assists for 68 points. The Blackhawks' playoff run lasted to overtime of game 7 of the Western Conference Final and he put up 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) in 19 games. He was a finalist for the Selke award and finished third in voting behind the winner Patrice Bergeron and first runner up Anze Kopitar. On July 9, 2014, the Blackhawks announced that Jonathan (along with Patrick Kane) had signed an eight year extension with the Blackhawks with an average annual salary of $10.5 million. The contract will start to run on July 1, 2015. On November 4, 2014, Jonathan scored his 200th NHL career goal. On November 11, 2014, he played in his 500th NHL career game. During Game 7 of the 2015 Western Conference Final, Jonathan scored the game's first two goals en route to a 5–3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. In the Finals, he led the Blackhawks to their third Stanley Cup championship in six seasons after the team's Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2–0. On June 24, 2015, he was named the recipient of the Mark Messier Leadership Award, awarded to the individual "in recognition of his commitment and service to charities in his community," as well as exemplifying a superior leadership ability in hockey, beating-out fellow finalists Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Ladd. Jonathan also won an ESPY Award for "Best NHL Player" in 2015. Electronic Arts selected Toews to appear on the cover of NHL 16. Jonathan was selected to play in the 2016 All-Star Game, but missed the game on account of illness; he was suspended for one game per NHL-rules for not attending the All-Star game. International Play In 2005, Jonathan captained Canada West at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge to a gold medal. He scored the game-winning goal in a 3–1 win over Canada Pacific in the championship game. He finished with 12 points, first in tournament scoring and was named tournament MVP. In his draft year, he competed on Team Canada's under-20 team at the 2006 World Junior Championships as the youngest player on the team. He tallied 2 assists during the tournament, both against Norway, in preliminary play as Canada defeated Russia in the gold medal game 5–0. In 2007, Jonathan earned a second straight World Junior gold medal. In the semi-final game against the U.S., he scored three times in the shootout to advance to the final. With 7 points, he led Team Canada in scoring and was named to the Tournament All-Star Team with teammate Carey Price. On Febraury 3, 2007, shortly after his gold medal win, he was honored by his hometown AHL team, the Manitoba Moose as he was presented with an honorary jersey for his tournament efforts. That same year, Jonathan also made his senior international debut at the 2007 World Championships and recorded 7 points in 9 games competing against mostly professional players after just his second year of college hockey (at the time of selection, Toews had not yet turned pro). Team Canada earned gold over Finland 4–2 in the championship game. In doing so, he became the first Canadian to win a World Junior championship and a World Championship in the same year. On June 29, 2007, Jonathan was awarded the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, an award given by the Province of Manitoba in honour of sporting achievements for his play in the junior and senior world championships. After his rookie year in the NHL, he competed in his second World Championships in 2008. On December 30, 2009, Jonathan was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He was named to the squad along with Blackhawks teammates Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Jonathan ended the tournament with a team-leading eight points. His seven assists tied with Pavol Demitra of Slovakia for the tournament lead. Jonathan's lone goal of the tournament opened the scoring in Canada's 3–2 overtime win in the gold medal game against the United States. As a result, he was awarded Best Forward and tournament all-star team honours. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he scored the first goal in the gold medal game against Sweden on the way to Team Canada's second straight Olympic gold medal. Personal Life Jonathan was born to Bryan Toews, an electrician at the University of Manitoba, and Andrée Gilbert, a native of Quebec from Sainte-Marie, Quebec who was the managing director and finance expert for a credit union in the Winnipeg region before retiring to oversee Toews' media relations. Toews is bilingual, speaking fluent French and English. Like Jonathan, his brother David also attended Shattuck-Saint Mary's, a boarding school in Faribault, Minnesota and began his freshman year at the University of North Dakota in 2008–2009. He was selected with the Chicago Blackhawks 2006 1st round pick, making him the 3rd overall pick. In January 2007, Jonathan and former teammate T.J. Oshie received alcohol-related citations for being minors in a Grand Forks, North Dakota tavern. He and Oshie pled guilty to the charges. The two were later placed on probation and ordered to perform community service. In the spring of 2010, a large mural of Toews visible from the Eisenhower Expressway in Chicago received a degree of notoriety. The mural depicted him with an abnormally shaped nose and mouth, posed beside a picture of the Stanley Cup (appropriately, Jonathan would end up holding the Cup after winning it later that year). Jonathan commented on the mural, stating: "I guess it's from a picture and they must have embellished it a little bit. They're not helping me by any means." Following the celebration of Jonathan bringing the Stanley Cup to his hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, the province of Manitoba announced that they would be naming a northern lake after Toews in honour of his success. The lake is located 150 km (93 mi) north of Flin Flon and is named Toews Lake. During that same day, the Dakota Community Centre in St. Vital where he first played organized hockey was renamed the Jonathan Toews Community Centre. He was also given the Keys to the City to honour his achievement and hard work ethic. Career Statistics Regular season and playoffs International Gallery infanttoews.jpg|Jonathan Toews as an infant baby toews.jpg toews family.jpg|Jonathan Toews with his parents Andree & Bryan and younger brother David baby toews2.jpg babytoews3.jpg youngtoews.jpg toews karate.jpg toews fishing.jpg Toews Shattuck St. Mary's.jpg|Shattuck St. Mary's Portrait toewscombine.jpg|2006 NHL Combine Portrait Toews2006NHLEntryDraftPortrait.jpg|2006 NHL Entry Draft Portrait Headshots toews2008-09.jpg|2008-09 Season toews2009-10.jpg|2009-10 Season toews2010-11.jpg|2010-11 Season toews2011-12.jpg|2011-12 Season toews2012-13.jpg|2012-13 Season toews2014-15.jpg|2014-15 Season toews2015-16season.jpg|2015-16 Season toews2016-17season.jpg|2016-17 Season Toews2017-18.jpg|2017-18 Season toews 2018-19 season.jpg|2018-19 Season jonathan toews 2019 20 season.jpg|2019-20 Season Category:Players Category:2010 Stanley Cup Champions Category:2013 Stanley Cup Champions Category:1988 births Category:2015 Stanley Cup Champions Category:Stanley Cup Champions Category:Forwards Category:2016-17 Roster Category:2007-08 Roster Category:2008-09 Roster Category:2009-10 Roster Category:2010-11 Roster Category:2011-12 Roster Category:2012-13 Roster Category:2013-14 Roster Category:2014-15 Roster Category:2015-16 Roster Category:Captains Category:2017-18 Roster Category:First-round draft picks Category:2018-19 Roster Category:2019-20 Roster